Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (born September 22, 1971) is an American actor who has appeared in films, television series, and theatre. He portrayed

D'Angelo Barksdale D'Angelo "Dee" Barksdale (c.1978-79 - July 21, 2003) is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls m ...

on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

drama series ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...

'', a role which earned him critical acclaim. He is also known for his role as

Bob Stookey Bob Stookey is a fictional character from the comic book series '' The Walking Dead'' and the television series of the same name, where he was portrayed by Lawrence Gilliard Jr. Created by Robert Kirkman and artists Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rat ...

in the AMC horror drama '' The Walking Dead''. He was in the cast of

David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08). He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...

TV series '' The Deuce'', which premiered in September 2017 and concluded in October 2019. Gilliard Jr. has had roles in movies such as '' Straight Out of Brooklyn'' (1991), '' Next Stop Wonderland'' (1998), and ''

Gangs of New York ''Gangs of New York'' is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book '' The Gangs of New York''. The film stars ...

'' (2002).

Early life and education

Gilliard was born in New York City. He and his family moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, when he was seven years old. Gilliard played clarinet and studied

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical m ...

Baltimore School for the Arts The Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) is a public performing arts high school located in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Maryland, United States and is part of the Baltimore City Public Schools system. Established in 1979, The Baltimore School for the ...

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

and

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

were classmates of Gilliard's at the Baltimore School of the Arts. After attending

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most eli ...

for three years as a clarinet performance student, Gilliard decided to pursue acting instead of music. He also studied acting at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ar ...

, The Acting Studio – New York, and the

Stella Adler Conservatory The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

Career

Gilliard made his film debut playing the lead, Dennis Brown, in the 1991 independent film '' Straight Out of Brooklyn.'' Gilliard has appeared on numerous television crime dramas such as ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''

'', ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'', and '' CSI: NY''. Film roles include a love-struck ghetto teen in ''LottoLand'' (1995), an earnest college football player in ''

The Waterboy ''The Waterboy'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It was written by Adam Sandler as well as Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Sandler also stars as the title character while Kathy B ...

'' (1998), and a member of the Dead Rabbits in ''

'' (2002). Gilliard is also a stage actor. He received positive reviews for his role of Booth in a production of the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had ma ...

-winning play ''

Topdog/Underdog ''Topdog/Underdog'' is a play by American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks which premiered in 2001 off-Broadway in New York City. The next year it opened on Broadway, at the Ambassador Theatre, where it played for several months. In 2002, Parks recei ...

''. He joined '' The Walking Dead'' cast as a regular, playing

Personal life

, Gilliard was married to

Michelle Paress Michelle Paress is an American actress. She starred in the HBO program ''The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadc ...

, who joined the cast of ''

'' in its fifth season.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilliard, Lawrence Jr. American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Juilliard School alumni Male actors from Baltimore Male actors from New York City Living people 1971 births American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people